The Swiss federal office of food security and veterinary affairs (OSAV) announced that from tomorrow, all of Switzerland will become a controlled zone. The agency aims to avoid all contact between wild birds and domestic ones. Adding that nothing so far indicates Swiss bird farms have been affected or that the virus has been transmitted […]
New Zealand earthquake leads to tsunami alert
Those, with friends or family in New Zealand, living in Switzerland, may be unaware of the recent earthquakes that hit New Zealand, or may have been confused by some reports. According to GeoNet, New Zealand’s official source of geological hazard information, six severe1 earthquakes have been recorded since midnight New Zealand time. The most severe […]
Geneva hits cyclists with fines
Tribune de Genève. Running a red light on a bicycle in Geneva will cost you CHF 60. Riding on the footpath brings a fine of CHF 40. Last week teams of police took to the city’s streets to issue fines. “We publicised our plan. We don’t want to surprise people”, officer Yann Oppeliguer, told the teams before they took […]
The new 12,200 franc Swiss Rail pass
From the beginning of next year, Swiss Rail will test a new CHF 12,200 annual pass. Called Green Class, the pass includes unlimited first class train travel, unlimited use of Swiss Rail city bikes, Mobility Car sharing (2,900 cars) and an electric BMW car, which comes with a station car park and a charge point […]
After being judged unfit, vegan man accepted by Swiss army
20 Minutes. In January, a young man from Valais, was excluded from Swiss military service because of his diet and beliefs. Because he is a vegan and won’t eat meat or wear boots made from leather he was declared unfit. Last Tuesday, the 19 year-old announced that his legal challenge had succeeded. The military has […]
Swiss clocks go back one hour this Sunday
Early on Sunday 30 October 2016 Swiss clocks turn back one hour. Officially they are adjusted at 3am. This means you can stay in bed longer and it will be lighter when you get up. On the down side, it will be darker in the evenings. The rest of Europe will adjust its clocks at […]
Swiss in favour of going nuclear free, says survey
24 Heures. On 27 November 2016, Swiss will vote on whether to shut down their nuclear power stations when they reach 45 years of operation. According to a recent survey by Tamedia, which owns the newspapers Tribune de Genève and 24 Heures, 55% of Swiss would like to see Switzerland’s nuclear plants shut down. The […]
Earthquake shakes houses in Switzerland
Tribune de Genève. According to Tribune de Genève, at 16:44 yesterday, an earthquake measuring 4.2 on the Richter scale, shook Valais. The quake’s centre was 6km north of the town of Sierre at a depth of 8.3 kilometres. The quake, which lasted several seconds was felt throughout central Valais, a canton known for famous resorts such as […]
App offering discounted restaurant leftovers, launches in Geneva
Millions of tonnes of food are thrown away every year. The smartphone app, Too Good to Go (TGTG), aims to solve this problem by offering leftovers at deep discounts. App users locate offers in their vicinity, pay for them by credit card, and pick them up within specified time slots, usually within half an hour of kitchens […]
Switzerland gets its first snow of the season
20 Minutes. Parts of Switzerland were covered in snow this weekend as the snow line crept down to 900 metres in some regions. Appenzell-Innerrhoden had snow at this level, reaching 20 centimetres in depth in places. According to Sharon Satz, from Meteonews, this is quite normal. “It snows at this altitude nearly every year in mid-October. It’s not […]
